


Neko and Tachi

by YayaSamuko



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Touhou Project
Genre: AU, Action, Adventure, F/F, Friendship, Yôkai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 16:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15711078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YayaSamuko/pseuds/YayaSamuko
Summary: Nico is a very busy woman who enjoyed cut things, cats included. One day though, she came home and found a girl who claims to be her cat. Little did she know it was only the beginning of more intrigue and supernatural stuff.





	1. Chapter 1

"I'm home!"

Nico was a very busy woman. Her life was a very long cycle of stress and tiredness. She was a salary woman with a lame life, no lover, no close friends, and above all, she was a nerdy girl who worshiped idols. Her daily life was divided into three things: job, idol research and cooking. She loved cooking as much as she appreciated cute thing. She wanted to become chief at some point but failed every audition and in the end, became a dull office lady.

"Welcome home, nya~"

…

A pair of crimson eyes widened as the raven-haired woman, still clad in her working suit, walked inside her one-room apartment. Something was off. Instead of the small cute cat she has taken in, she saw a young-looking woman sitting on the sofa while playing with some thread. The oddest thing was that this girl (?) had a pair of cat ears atop her head and a fluffy-looking tail on her lower back. Her eyes were chartreuse-colored and her small sharp fangs were visible when she opened her mouth.

"Ah!?" Nico gasped, surprised and took her phone instantly. "Who do you think you are? Getting into other's apartment, naked that is, and uses other people's belongings!

The naked character made a cute pout as she crawled on the couch. "Boo! Nico-chan is so cold nya~ It's only me though."

Upon closer look, the older woman thought and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it yet though. "No! No! This can't be!" She muttered. "Though she just acts like how Rin would when I get home. Her eyes are shining the same way as my cat does." She looked up at the other individual. "Who the hell are you in the end?"

The girl thought as she placed a finger on her lower lip. "Hun? Rin is just Rin though…"

A sigh escaped Nico's lips as she made sure to lock the door behind her and placed her phone back on her skirt's pocket. She was too tired for that. All she wanted right at that instant was a good old cup of coffee and watch some idol concert while caressing her cat…

Taking her high heel shoes by the entrance, she put a pair of slippers on and entered the living room/bedroom. It was a small apartment with no hall, just one room where a bed rests at the corner. A couch facing the TV and a small glass table is at the middle of the room while a desk was near the bed. At the other side of the room was the kitchen corner and at the bathroom. It was the only apartment with electricity and water she could find with her possibilities.

Rin (?) followed her mistress with her cat-like eyes. The petite woman shivered as she walked over to the shelves near the bed and grabbed a baggy T-shirt before throwing it at the catgirl. "Will you put something on already? Aren't you ashamed?"

"But Rin is used to it…" The ginger replied, oblivious. "I mean Rin never wore anything while being a cat."

Nico rubbed her temples as she made a grimace face. "Whatever, please just put this on! I am sure you know how to do so since you saw me putting clothes on if you are really the cat you claim to be."

"That is something Rin can do nya~" Rin saluted before grabbing the baggy T-shirt that fell on the small table. Putting it on from over her head, she stood up and swirled on her heels, testing the white cotton product. It was large and long enough to reach her elbows and mid-thigh but displayed some of her (flat) bust. "This feels so weird." She commented before sniffing the collar. "It smells good~ Rin can recognize Nico-chan's smell out of everything."

The ravenette made a crazy face, rolling her eyes. "Please do not say something like that while sniffing my clothes. You sound like a pervert." She walked toward the bathroom, deciding to splash some cold water on her face to forget the fact she just handed her sleepwear to some stranger (?) claiming to be her cat who turned into a human. It didn't take long and she walked back into the main room with a towel resting on her shoulder. The catgirl was peacefully watching through the closed glass windows and Nico swore she saw what looked like her cat for a split second before it turned back into the girl from earlier. Sighing another time, the petite woman walked toward the kitchen corner and powered the coffee machine on. "Anyway…" She started, eying at the ginger. "Rin, was it?"

The pumpkin-haired humanoid turned to her mistress with a huge smile. "What is it, Nico-chan?"

"I…" The ravenette found her words getting caught in her throat as she saw the bright expression on the shorter girl's face. It took her a moment before finding back her words. "Are you really Rin…?"

The catgirl tilted her head. "Rin doesn't get that question, nya… Nico-chan, are you all right? You haven't been acting like your usual self today."

Nico was back to massaging her temples at that question. "Well… I was very surprised seeing someone I have never seen before so of course I would react like how any normal person would." She eyed back at the girl and frowned. "I still find it hard to think that you truly are _Rin_ , the cat I have taken in one year ago right after I moved here."

"But Rin is Rin, nya. There's nothing complex."

"Well…"

The ravenette decided it was finally time to ask the most important question. Just as she was about to speak though, the coffee machine made a beep as to notify her it was ready. Taking a cup, the woman filled it and walked toward the couch, taking seat. Just at that time, Rin walked in her direction and crawled so she was lying on Nico's lap. She was instantly pushed aside and made a pout as the ravenette displayed a stern look. The catgirl's eyes became huge and watery, looking like some beat-up cats or a baby ready to cry anytime. Sighing, the woman slightly relaxed and allowed Rin to rest her head on her lap.

Deciding it was better trying to relax for now, the petite woman just sipped her black coffee. "Something has been bothering me though…" Nico's right hand still held the cut while her left one was free. Looking down, Rin's hair looked very fluffy and tempting. After a good second of mental debate, she finally touched it with her left hand and found herself addicted to caressing it the next second. It was made more tempting when the catgirl started to purr as the petite and slender fingers brushed near her ears. "How come did you turn into this? I mean your appearance? How come did you get that humanoid form?"

The still purring creature kept her eyes close. "Tonight is red moon nya…"

"?" Nico tilted her head. "Pardon?"

"It's an event that only occurs once every 100 years. My family has been known as the guardian of the _sacred gate_ for generations now. Rin was sent here on earth two years ago to fulfill a duty that only the _chosen one_ of my family could do."

"Wait one minute!" Nico's hand stopped, earning a pout from the odd individual. "What the hell are you saying here? Are you trying to tell me you are some kind of alien who arrived here and pretended to be dumb all that time?"

"I wouldn't phrase it like that though." The catgirl sighed as she stretched and yawned freely. "We are what you humans call _yokai_ or _oni_ , creaturs who live on a parallel world where demons reign over. The red moon is an event when the gate between our two worlds weakens and allows some of us to visit this world. You humans prefer calling it Halloween though. Also, some demons are too dangerous though, and they wish to take over your world. It is my duty as heiress of the family to stop them if needed. That's why I came in two years ago but ended up as a starved and wounded stray cat. That's when I met Nico-chan nya."

The human was at loss of words at that and it took her a moment before reacting. "O…kay…" She placed the cup on the low table and stood up. "I'm kind of feeling tired right now so I'm going to sleep a little. I will think more about this after I wake up so good night!" And with that, she walked toward her bed and stripped until ending in her underwear and fell face first on the bed.

Rin just smiled as she walked over and saw that her mistress has already fallen asleep. She brushed some wild hair behind the woman's ear and leaned in to bring her lips on Nico's left cheek. "You can sleep well while I do my job." She leaned back and walked over to the window. The moon was already high in the sky while the roads were filled with cosplayers enjoying the evening of that October 31st. She knew that some of them were true demons though. Sliding the window open, she took off the shirt and her body was enveloped by fire. Not long after, it dissipated and she was now clad in a golden-colored tank top and skirt. "All right! Time for job!" And with that, she jumped out of the window and into another building to face two shady creatures. "You are not allowed to go to this world! I will stop you all send you back to _Gensokiyo_."

Meanwhile, as that was happening, three figures stood atop another building, far from there. They sat at the edge of it. "It has started, hun?" The one wearing a _miko_ priestess' outfit started. "Rin-chan went ahead of us."

"It can't be helped." The blonde woman, who would look normal if it wasn't for the pair of fox ears atop her head and nine tails sprouting from her back wile being clad in a _yukata_ , commented back. "She has always hated waiting and always rushed head first into the problems. Well… I expected her to do this."

"But I'm glad Rin-chan is fine." The last individual, a ginger girl wearing a gothic dress and a large witch hat, added, the tone of her voice being cheerful. "We couldn't sense where she was because she never turned into her _yokai_ form. Now, Honoka is happy to see her safe and well."

"I was worried after we got separated a year ago too though…"

The priestess chuckled. "I did say you didn't need to worry though, Elicchi, Honocchi~ The cards has told me she found someone who would take great care of her."

"And we did trust you!" The ginger commented. "It's true! Honoka trust in Nozomi-chan. It's just that Honoka can't help getting worried about Rin-chan since she is like our younger sister."

"I second Honoka!"

Another chuckle. "Well… We could continue that discussion later and do our job for now. We can't leave all the hard job to Rin-chan as her senior, older-sister figure and beloved idols~"

The two other nodded and they jumped from the building. The priestess floated while the witch summoned a broom that allowed her to fly and the _kiyuubi kitsune yokai_ 's tails flapped slowly as to allow her to not fall down. They took separate direction and went looking for potential demons hiding among the cosplayers.


	2. Chapter 2

"All done!" The ginger-haired black-clad witch said happily as the fireball she threw knocked a _kappa_ sending it back to _Gensokyo_. Stretching, she enjoyed the cold wind of the night. It was already past 04:00 AM and the crowd of people who has been enjoying the night of Halloween was gone. Honoka sighed as she flew on her broom. "I wonder if Eli-chan, Nozomi-chan and Rin-chan are done as well."

At the other side of the town, the _shikigami yokai_ also sighed as she closed a breach in the space. "It was the last one." Eli softly spoke to herself before turning to her side and gave a smile. "Thank you for helping me, Rin."

The catgirl returned the smile. "It's nice to meet Eli-chan again. Last time we saw each others was when leaving _Gensokyo_ two years ago."

"We were worried."

Rin rubbed the back of her head, awkwardly while seeing that cute pout on the older _yokai_ 's face. "Rin goofed up…" She stated weakly, remembering how she got separated from her friends and had to hide her true identity by remaining as a cat.

Her humanoid form—with cat ears and tail—would scare the hell out of other people and they might reject her so she just remained in her animal form. Turned out a stray cat's life is hard in between the kids who wanted to bully her or the dogs that chassed her. She couldn't use her power if weak or hungry though and just endured.

Fortunately, that was when she met Nico… or more accurately, Nico found her. It was a cold winter night and Rin has been wounded after a fight with another cat. A young woman, seemingly tired after a very long day, saw her and kneeled down to caress the cat's cheek. It was an instant _coup de foudre_ as both of the two individuals seemed to appreciate each others. The woman took Rin in and brought her to her apartment to clean her neatly and kept each other's company. As they spent time though, Rin started forgetting the most important things and just appreciated her life as a cat. It was only that morning that she has realized the time has come.

"But thanks to Nico-chan, Rin is perfectly healthy."

"Nico…chan?" The _yukata_ -clad woman gave a tilt of the head.

"She's the one who took care of me all this time. Rin is very thankful of her. We so love each others nya~"

"I…see…" Eli decided to not pursue any longer and just smiled before starting to float. "I am sure your feelings are sincere and you will find the right words to thank her when the time for goodbye will come."

Rin gasped at these words, realization hitting her. That's right! Nico was a human and she was a _yokai_ ; Nico's place was in earth while Rin belonged to _Gensokyo._ A sigh escaped the catgirl. "Will I be able to find the right words…?"

There was an awkward silence as the older person thought about how to answer. "I know it might be hard but I do believe in Rin. We knew each others for 50 good years now. Knowing you, you will cry but will do it properly."

Rin silently nodded as she walked over to her friend. Right at that time though, something clung to her from behind and she watched from over her shoulder to see a familiar witch. "Honoka-nya?"

"Yeah! It's Honoka!" The ginger replied cheerfully as she released her old friend. "It's been a while, Rin-chan! Honoka was so worried!"

"Hehe. Sorry nya." The catgirl was back to rubbing her head while displaying a goofy smile. "It's all thanks to Nico-chan that Rin managed to make it this healthy today."

"Nico-chan?" Honoka tilted her head.

"She's a human who took care of Rin all this time." Eli decided to explain instead.

Honoka gave her long lost friend another bright smile. "That's good then! Honoka needs to thank her personally in that case. She took well care of Honoka's precious little sister after all."

The other two chuckled at these words. After that, the three of them took seat at the building's edge while watching the horizon. The sun was going to rise in few hours and they were supposed to be done with their job. However, something was off.

"Nozomi should have been done as well. Why hasn't she arrived yet?"

Honoka and Rin stood up and looked around. "It's true nya. Did she get into some trouble again?"

"Though the more troublesome of us is you, Rin-chan."

Honoka had a point. Everyone could agree. Hover, Eli also had a point so she stood up and started to float. "I'm going to search for her."

That was the cue for the two others to come with a smart quote. "We're coming too." And they followed their friend with Honoka riding her broom and Rin jumping from building to building like a ninja.

[-x-x-x-]

A _miko_ -clad character was sent flying and crashed against a water tank. The dark-clad figure walked in her direction, a dark purple sword in hand. Nozomi couldn't quite see their real identity and her opponent seemed too strong for her. For even the highest priestess of her family to lose like that, this person was not just some _oni_ one could hope to win.

"Who are you?"

No response came from the shady person as they just raised the sword and was about to slash the maiden if it wasn't for a fire whip that slashed near them. The enemy quickly jumped backward as they saw Eli flying in their direction. The fox girl stopped by her friend and helped her standing up. "Are you okay, Nozomi?"

The older woman nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Elicchi!"

Rin and Honoka also arrived and surrounded the shady person. The catgirl casted a fireball and her witch friend mimicked her. At the count of three, they both threw their balls but the enemy was too fast to avoid it, jumping so that the two attacks would collide.

"She avoided it?"

The shady person landed on their feet and saw that they were surrounded by four huntresses. Eli thought it would be wife to try to talk and convey the person to return back to their world without any more fuss. "You are outnumbered! Surrender and we will not hurt you."

"Foolish!" There words escaped the coat-clad figure that had some shade of dark red bangs visible from over her hood. "You won't be able to stop the A-RISE from happening. It has already started and it's too late to stop it."

"What are you talking about?"

"The three of us were able to escape our prison and will make this world our empire."

Honoka thought she had enough and sent another fireball at the seemingly woman, who easily stopped it with her hand. It was absorbed into her palm before she raised her other hand and a darker version of the attack went at full speed at the sender. The ginger wasn't fast enough and took full damage, being knocked out of the building and falling.

"Honoka-nya!" Rin jumped from the building and into the air to catch her friend before she fell on the ground. The two of them managed to regain their balance and flew back upstairs to find Eli and Nozomi both on the floor and the mysterious person nowhere. "Eli-chan… Nozomi-chan!"

"She got us…" The _yokai_ slowly stood up. "I have a bad feeling. We need to contact the council right away."

"Roger that!" The only one who hasn't taken an attack volunteered. "I will return to _Gensokyo_ right away and ask the elders about that A-RISE."

Eli nodded as she opened a gap in the space for Rin to enter. As soon as the young catgirl has crossed it, the three remaining young women fell back on the floor, panting heavily. "She did a great number on us, hun?"

"She was too powerful. It's criminal. She one-shouted Honoka! Who on earth is that person and what is that A-RISE thing?" The ginger totally fell on the ground and watched the dark blue sky.

[-x-x-x-]

"I'm back nya!" Rin said as she exited another gap where the last one was. The sun was already rising by that time and her three friends have recovered and were waiting for her. "I brought bad news."

"Speak, Rin-chan!"

The girl nodded and explained the situation. There was a prison where the most dangerous _yokai_ from _Gensokyo_ were sent but three specific prisoners have escaped few months prior. The elders has concluded they must have fled into another world and sent hunters to catch them but they would escape every time. In the end, they successfully managed to get away.

"But we can't just let them put chaos to this world. We need to stop them." Honoka commented.

"I agree with Honoka-chan." Nozomi added. "Our mission is to make sure no dark _yokai_ interfere too much with humans. Our job is not done yet."

"But the gap between our strength is too much." Eli thought as she placed a finger on her chin, looking at the rising sun. "Not to mention there should be tree of them, every one of them being at least A or S-rank criminals."

"Then, we'll just need some training and power-ups, nya!" The catgirl spoke her mind cheerfully before realizing something. She turned around and saw that several people were already walking down the roads, few cars there and there. "It's already morning, nya! Rin need to get home before Nico-chan leaves for work."

"I don't think now is truly the time for that Rin-"

The _miko_ stopped her friend with a hand before smiling at the ginger. "I think that would be a good idea. We will need a temporal base or someplace where to hide. I admit pretending to be nomad to gain our life wasn't the best choice."

Eli looked down as flashbacks of the three of them doing street performance to survive during the past two years went on her mind. Her face turned red. "Well… It's true but won't it be a trouble for a human?"

Rin thought about it. "Well… Nico-chan might be grumpy and _tsundere_ most of the time but she sure can quite be kindhearted."

"Then, it's settled! Let us go to Nico-chan's place!"

Eli had to reluctantly agree, not wanting to do any more street performance. Maybe that Nico woman will be able to find some utility in them.

[-x-x-x-]

Nico considered herself like a simple girl with a simple, yet crazy life. However, she never expected to wake up one day, in her underwear—okay, that was something that occurred every time she went home after a long day at work since she was too tired to put some pajama on—and with four young women she didn't know in her living room.

Of course, she reacted like how any sane person would. "Who the hell are you people? Burglars? Sorry to tell you but there's nothing valuable in here and don't even thing about possibility of rape."

Rin and Honoka, who were both clad in Nico's oversized shirts—white for the younger and pink for the older one—, tilted their head. "Burglar? Rap?" The taller ginger mentally asked.

"It's just Rin nya!"

"Rin?!" Nico said that a little too loud. Then, a flashback of what has happened the night prior ran in her mind. She made a grimace. "So, it wasn't a dream…" She massaged her temples while grabbing a nearby shirt. "I can't still believe this shit. What the hell, Rin? Also, who are these people?" She asked, pointing accusing finger at the taller ginger, the woman clad in a priestess' outfit and the small nine-tailed fox sitting by the door.

"They are Rin's childhood friend!" The catgirl replied happily as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "This is Honoka-nya!" She held the other ginger, who smiled and waved at Nico, before motioning to the purplenette. "Over there is Nozomi-chan!"

"We are sorry for intruding but we had no other place where to go. The name is Toujou Nozomi, by the way, _a miko_ working at the Toujou shrine."

"And the cute fox over there is Eli-chan!"

Nico watched the fox closely. It watched her directly, her icy blue eyes shinning. _"We are really sorry. We'll make ourselves as small as possible."_

"What was that? There was a voice in my head!" The ravenette freaked.

"Eli-chan can speak to other people's mind directly via telepathy by the way." Honoka explained before doing a girly twirl. "These clothes are very comfortable by the way. I borrowed one since my dress got too dirty and I need to wash it."

"O…kay…"

That was odd, anyone would say. Nico, however, after the events of the night before, decided to give up. She just stood up, thinking she was too busy to waste time thinking about these things. Sure, she saw these settling in anime, like in Fruit Basket and Kobayashi's maid dragon, waking up one day to find odd people who turn into animal and ask for your assistance. It was just a little odd living these events up.

She decided she wasn't going to let it bother her for now and will live normally until the week end. She had no second of rest, tanks to her boss and needed to focus 100% on life matter. She will deal with these _yokai_ once Saturday comes.

"Whatever… I will be going to work for now so please do not break anything!" Nico said as she exited the bathroom, already clad in her suit and walked toward the door, unlocking it and stepping out, turning one last time though. "You heard me, Rin! If you break anything, I will make a hell out of your lives. Also, if you're hungry, there's cat food in the fridge." And with that, she closed the door behind and opted to lock it just in case. You never knew for sure. One can't be too prudent.

And that was how her life of normalcy came into an end.

Nico was a very busy woman. Her life was a very long cycle of stress and tiredness. She was a salary woman with a lame life, no lover, no close friends, and above all, she was a nerdy girl who worshiped idols. Her daily life was divided into three things: job, idol research and cooking. She loved cooking as much as she appreciated cute thing. She wanted to become chief at some point but failed every audition and in the end, became a dull office lady.


	3. Chapter 3

"…" Nico was impatiently tapping her fingers on the desk. Her laptop was on and an idol concert was being played. Something was very much annoying her though and she couldn't fully concentrate. After a good minute, her patience came to its limit and she rotated her seat to come in face with two idiots who were busy playing. "Will you two stop this already?!"

Honoka and her ginger cadet paused their small game of tarot cards to look at the older (?) woman. "What's wrong, Nico-chan?"

"Please just play in silence, will you? It's already a pain that five people are living in such a small apartment. I don't need more problems."

" _I'm really sorry…"_ The small fox bowed her head and the ravenette sighed before putting some earplug and continued watching her laptop.

It has been few days since Rin has revealed the truth. The four of them were _yokai_ from another world who has been living for five decades, waiting for this time of the year to come so they will be able to stop the raging demons. They explained that three of the most dangerous criminals have escaped though and they needed a temporal HQ to live in until tracking them. Of course, Nico was very reluctant but having the two gingers begging her while making puppy faces somehow changed her mind…not as if she would say it aloud.

Oddly, the young woman took the story pretty much. She has read lot of manga and books talking about another world and since Honoka have demonstrated several magic tricks to convince her. In the end, she has agreed to let them live there for now but insisted she didn't want to get involved into all that _Gensokiyo_ stuff.

Watching the petite woman from the couch, Nozomi was seated calmly while having her fox friend on her lap. She watched as their younger friends were enjoying their party of cards. She, herself, was still clad in her _miko_ outfit and Honoka has changed back into her witch dress. Rin was still wearing that baggy T-shirt while Eli has remained as a fox all that time.

It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon and they all continued to stay there for an instant before Nico removed the earphones and shut the computer down. She walked toward the small closet and took a purse from it as well as a coat before walking toward the exit.

Rin saw her and decided to ask. "Are you going somewhere, Nico-chan?"

"I need to buy some groceries."

"Then, Rin will accompany you nya~" The catgirl volunteered, standing up and running in her direction.

"No way!"

"But whyyyyyy~?" The ginger whined, her eyes teary.

Nico sighed. "Look! I need to go out for that and as I've already repeated, I don't want to get involved in anything. You don't know how to keep low profile and the ears atop your head will be hard to conceal."

"But-"

"No but, Rin! Just remain here like a good girl."

"…" The _yokai_ pouted before looking down and finally walked back toward Nozomi. "Nico-chan is being a meanie nya…"

Another sigh escaped the petite woman before Honoka walked in her direction. "In that case, would it be all right if I accompany you?"

"Hein? Are you dumb?"

"Only sometimes!" The ginger replied flatly before her smile returned back. "The truth is there is something I need to find as well but since I am not very familiar with this town, maybe Nico-chan could help Honoka."

"I decline!"

"But whyyy~?"

Yet another sigh escaped Nico as she turned toward the door and opened it. Honoka was determined though and followed her before the petite woman could lock the door behind. The ravenette looked annoyed. "The hell?"

The response just came in form of a smile and a chuckle. "Let's go then, Nico-chan~"

Annoyed, the petite woman stormed in the direction of the elevator but was followed by the witch. Well, she might not get too much problem with Honoka since cosplayers are common things nowadays but it was still embarrassing to have her name being called every two steps. Slowing down as they exited the building, Nico saw that the town was rather crowded. She eyed at the ginger that was awing and offered a hand. "I don't want any more problem by getting lost so…"

The ginger smiled eagerly. "Right, Nico-chan~"

[-x-x-x-]

"I'm bored nya…"

Nozomi eyed at her friend who was laid on the carpet. She then turned her attention to the desk once again. Despite the small area, the room was well-tidied. She concluded Nico was some kind of person who, despite being busy, enjoys cleaning and keeping things in order. "Well… Nico-chan told us to not cause any problem so we'll just have to keep low profile.

"But Rin is bored nya…"

" _Please make with it…"_ Eli sighed before standing up, still in her _kitsune_ form. _"I can sense something…"_

"Is that the individual from the other day?"

" _Not quite… but they are strong."_

"Then, we need to investigate." The catgirl volunteered as she turned into her cat form. _"I will go check on them. I king of can feel it too. Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan, just stay here."_

"Good luck, Rin-chan!"

The cat nodded before jumping at the window and used all her agility to jump from window to window until arriving at the other building. She continued running and jumping like a ninja until arriving in front of a hospital. _'This place is…'_

As she was about to walk closer though, a car stopped in the parking and a young-looking woman with crimson red hair and was wearing a businesswoman suit exited it. Rin could feel that this person was not a mere human. She didn't seem that dangerous though. Having a look around, the individual locked the car's door behind and started walking toward the rear garden of the hospital. The cat decided to quietly follow her and hope the red-head won't notice her.

Said garden was deserted at that time and it was very quiet. The woman paused in her track as she arrived in front of a tall tree, making Rin stop as well. She placed a hand on said tree. "What does a _yokai_ want from me?"

' _No way! She found me already?'_

There was a moment of silence as the cat just stood there, motionless. The red-head turned in her direction, her burning violet eyes looking straight through Rin's soul. "I asked a question."

The cat gulped before flames enveloped her and she appeared in her humanoid form, wearing the tank top and skirt from few days prior. Her tail and ears still remained though. "Who are you and what are your business nya?"

The red-haired woman sighed. "First off, I'm Nishikino Maki and I work as a doctor. I have just been transferred to this hospital today so I don't know anything."

"How come could you have sensed Rin then? What are you?"

"It is for me to know and for you to never know." She replied coldly before starting to walk back, passing by Rin. At that time, the catgirl felt an overwhelming power being emitted by the person and she grabbed Maki's hand. "What do you think you're doing?" Maki glared at the shorter girl.

"What are you?"

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" A dark aura started surrounding the red-head and Rin's hand that was holding her weakened as if her life force was being drained. "I hate stubborn people as much as I hate being touched. You are going to pay, you lowly _yokai_!"

Rin found her words caught in her throat as she couldn't utter a single word, her body loosing all its energy and she fell on her knees. _'What in the world is she?'_

The woman raised a hand and dark winds swirled around it. She looked down at the ginger and was about to give a good hit while someone grabbed her hand. "That's enough, Maki!" The voice was stern and the red-head stopped. The dark aura instantly vanished and the catgirl was able to stand up again. She looked at the newcomer who had long wavy hair and was clad in the same outfit as Maki. She gave a polite bow. "I apologize for Maki's rude behavior!"

The red-head looked scandalized. "Umi! Why are you apologizing?"

"Because you did something horrible to her."

"But she started it!" Maki childishly commented back, earning a sigh from the older woman.

Umi turned back to Rin. "But I think what you did was not very smart."

The catgirl looked at her. She could also sense something powerful within that new individual. "But who are you people in the end?"

"Let's just say that we are the neutrals." The bluenette replied, keeping her calm tone. "We are neither with _Gensokiyo's_ council nor against it. We do not wish to get involved in this entire story."

Rin's claws started to appear as her fangs became sharp. "Are you two _yokai_ who has escaped?"

"No such thing." The red-head replied as she started to play with some strands of her hair.

"Then, what?"

"It will be better for you to not know for now." Umi replied before feeling something and took one step back before a burning arrow landed in front of her, barely missing her. She got in a defensive position as a new individual appeared behind Rin. "Who goes there?"

"Rin-chan's guardian angel!" Honoka happily said as she was lifting Nico in bridal style. "I sense something so I flew here as fast as I could. Nico-chan didn't want me to cause trouble so I brought her with me."

"The hell?" The petite woman swore. "I told you I don't want to have anything to do with this entire magic thing!"

"A… human…?" Maki tilted her head. _'I can't sense any danger from her though… What is she doing with these yokai?'_

"Let go of me!" Nico pushed Honoka aside and fell butt first on the ground. She rubbed her bottom to ease the pain. "It hurts…"

"Are you okay?" Umi offered a hand to help her but Honoka slapped the offer away, standing in front of the human. The bluenette sighed. "I was just trying to help her."

"You did awful things to Rin-chan and Honoka will not forgive you. I won't let you hurt Nico-chan."

More sigh escaped Umi as she pated her friend's back. "Come on, Maki! You apologize as well!"

"And why should I? She was the one to make the first move."

"I don't care. She was just ignorant. We know things. It is our duty to keep things neutral, not to make more enemies."

"But-"

"No buts!"

Maki sighed as she turned to Rin. "I'm sorry!" She said flatly before averting her eyes. "Mpff!"

Honoka wasn't still convinced though as she closely followed the two newcomers with her eyes. Umi saw that and just cleared her throat. "We are not your enemies. Rest assured! We will not hurt any of you. However, we will not help you stop A-RISE."

"How do you know?"

"It's a secret."

Already there, the ginger felt even more annoyed. She grabbed Nico once again and took her in bridal style. "Jeez! Honoka has gotten enough. Let's go, Nico-chan, Rin-chan!"

"I told you to stop lifting me like this!"

"Let's go home nya!"

"We still have groceries to buy. You just go ahead and report to Nozomi-chan."

"Roger nya!"

And then they separated, leaving Maki and Umi alone at the garden. The red-head sighed as she walked back toward the building, soon followed by her friend. "I don't want to get involved into this."

"So do I…"


End file.
